James Edward Rains

James Edward Rains (10 April 1833-31 December 1862) was a Brigadier-General of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Biography
James Edward Rains was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1833, and he graduated from Yale Law School in 1854 before becoming a school headmaster. In 1858, he was elected as the city attorney of Nashville as a US Whig Party member, and he was opposed to secession. However, he decided to side with the Confederacy when the American Civil War broke out in 1861, commanding the 11th Tennesesee Infantry in the Confederate States Army. During the winter of 1861-1862, he defended the Cumberland Gap from the Union, and it was not until June 1862 that the Union outflanked him. He was promoted to Brigadier-General in November 1862 for his contribution to the defense of the Cumberland Gap, and he led a brigade of North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee troops in the Army of Tennessee. On 31 December 1862, he was shot through the heart while leading his brigade against Union artillery at the Battle of Stones River, killing him.